Kennedy comes out for gay marriage

By GLENN THRUSH & BEN SMITH |
A Kennedy spokesman drafted seven written answers to the eight questions submitted by Politico on Friday to the 51-year-old attorney, author and electoral novice.

Caroline Kennedy is finally sharing some of her political opinions with the people she's campaigning to represent " casting herself in the liberal tradition of uncle Ted Kennedy, bucking Barack Obama by supporting same-sex marriage and disavowing Hillary Clinton's 2002 vote for the Iraq invasion.

A Kennedy spokesman drafted seven written answers to the eight questions submitted by Politico to the 51-year-old attorney, author and electoral novice.

Some of Kennedy's responses were brief and vague " and she flatly refused to answer a pressing political query we posed: Will she support the Democratic nominee for New York mayor in 2009?

The following are the questions we asked and the answers her spokesman Stefan Friedman provided this morning:

QUESTION 1: Will you commit to supporting your party's nominee for mayor against Michael Bloomberg in 2009? Did you back the mayor's efforts to suspend term limits?

ANSWER: Declined comment.

QUESTION 2: Same-sex marriage. Do you support the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry? Do you think it's appropriate that Rick Warren, who campaigned to ban gay marriage, is delivering the invocation at Obama's inauguration? If not, have you expressed that to the president-elect?

ANSWER: "Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples."

QUESTION 3: Do you think Senator Schumer made a mistake when he successfully pushed to have the Glass-Steagall Act repealed, breaking down barriers between securities firms and banks? What priorities would you set for restructuring New York's financial services industry? And which of the current financial regulatory plans would you support?

ANSWER: "At this time, Caroline does not have a specific plan to fix New York's financial services industry. But, if selected, she will work with President Elect Obama, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Chris Dodd to pass laws that protect investors and working families across New York and the country."

QUESTION 4: Governor Paterson has promised to deal with New York's deficit by cutting services and other spending, and promised not to impose any income tax increases, even on the wealthy. Do you think he was right to rule out a tax hike?

ANSWER: "Based on what she's read about the budget released a few days ago, Caroline believes that Governor Paterson's budget appropriately includes both revenue increases and budget cuts while still protecting the most vulnerable. On the issue of where to cut or what revenue to increase, she leaves that up to the governor and the legislature. Governor Paterson was one of the first elected officials in the nation to sound the alarm about our fiscal crisis and he has led the charge to get Washington to give aid to the New York because we have been hit so hard by the financial meltdown."

QUESTION 5: Did you support or oppose the war at the time of the Oct. 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force? Is there any way to document your stance? Did you say anything public, or participate in any anti-war demonstrations? And, do you now think that 16 months is a reasonable timeline for getting American combat troops out of Iraq?

ANSWER: "Caroline opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. She supports President-Elect Obama's plan to work with our military leaders to begin a responsible withdrawal."

QUESTION 6: Did you support or oppose the lawsuit charging that Albany shortchanges New York City on school aid? Do you support the use of local, state and federal money for charter schools? Do you think teachers at charter schools should be unionized like public school teachers?

ANSWER: "Caroline did not take a public position at the time on CFE, but supports fair funding for New York City schools. She supports charter schools, using government money for charters and the right of teachers to organize at charters if they choose."

QUESTION 7: Do you support the auto bailout President Bush announced by Friday?

ANSWER: "Yes, Caroline supports the auto industry bailout package passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month and welcomes the president's actions yesterday to use TARP funds."

QUESTION 8: Do you think Israel should negotiate with Hamas? Do you agree with Israel's Gaza Strip embargo? Would you support an Israeli airstrike on Iran if they felt Tehran's nuclear program represented a threat to their survival?

ANSWER: "Caroline Kennedy strongly supports a safe and secure Israel. She believe Israel's security decisions should be left to Israel."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16769.html